In honour of the Vancouver Canucks, here’s something else that’s not very good but is usually kind of interesting: the Monday morning musings and meditations on the world of sports.

— When it announced its decision on Nazem Kadri, the NHL’s department of player safety offered the following explanation.

– Kadri’s status as a three-time offender was not a factor in the decision

– The blindside hit was not a factor.

– Kadri’s left shoulder glanced off the front of Daniel Sedin’s right shoulder before it made contact with the Canucks winger’s head.

– There was a precedent last year involving Brad Malone of Carolina and Nick Foligno of Columbus, which, evidently, is the Roe vs. Wade of blindside head shots.

Therefore, the hit was not a suspendible offence.

Look, I understand it’s hard to weigh in on this subject without sounding like a complete homer but, really, who cares at this point? The hit made contact with Sedin’s head. It also came from behind, it was late and it was delivered by a repeat offender.

In short, it satisfied any criteria for a dangerous play. And for the NHL to hide behind its interpretation of the rulebook and some precedent that’s unfamiliar to anyone outside the department of player safety is the worst kind of joke.

This is precisely the kind of hit the league has been trying to take out of the game for over a decade but, with this decision, they’ve sent the clear message that maybe it’s not that big a deal; that under some circumstances, you can track a player from behind, launch yourself at him and contact his head when he’s at his most vulnerable.

This is a Canucks story — question: how does this franchise end up in the middle of these things? — and I understand how it plays in this market. But, irrespective of regional biases, this decision stinks and applying Trumpian logic to it doesn’t make it smell any better.

— One other thing. If this doesn’t inspire the Canucks to play angry, there really is no hope for this team.

— Last week we had an item about Mike Gillis’s regime in which we opined the Canucks made too many mistakes on personnel decisions and at the draft table under Gillis’s watch but his insistence on playing a speed-and-skill game ushered in the most successful era in Canucks’ history.

That seemed like a fair assessment of the Gillis years and it certainly wasn’t meant to cause offence but the former Canucks GM didn’t think so. The next morning I got a text which read, among other things, “I will be happy to tell you personally next time I see you to go (perform an act which is biologically impossible).”

At least he’ll tell me personally. That makes it special.

The subtext to Gillis’s flaming arrow, apparently, is he feels the franchise’s accomplishments from 2008 to 2014 have been marginalized. Maybe that’s true. But this is also true. Since Pat Quinn was ousted by the McCaw ownership group, the Canucks have lurched from one calamity to another and if you look at the people who’ve been in charge — from senior management to ownership — it’s little wonder the organization has been unstable and inconsistent.

At some point, the Canucks need to be guided by the principles of good governance and effective leadership. That means a thorough, level-headed approach to their problems unimpeded by emotion and histrionics; you know, the approach favoured by successful organizations.

— Onwards, Game 7 of the 2016 World Series is now almost a week old but that night will always be with us because it represents the reasons we watch sports.

The thrills and the drama need no further recounting here. But this was about so much more. It was about the stories that have been passed through generations and the one big story that originated before the First World War. It was about the fans of two heritage franchises and their shared experiences. It was a celebration of baseball, a game that was being played before the American Civil War.

And for all that, this might have been the best part of this epic. There were only heroes on this night and whether it was Indians manager Terry Francona or Cubs catcher David Ross, they all had a deep appreciation for what they’d been a part of and were all thankful for the experience.

That kind of grace is becoming hard to find in our world but, for one night at least, it was there and it was a beautiful thing.

— You don’t think of 46-year-old place kickers as being inspirational leaders but Paul McCallum gave the B.C. Lions a huge lift with his four-for-four field-goal performance in Saturday’s win over Saskatchewan. The points were one thing but, with the playoffs looming, the confidence they instilled were far more important. The Lions one glaring weakness has been Richie Leone’s field-goal kicking and that can have an unsettling effect on a team. Suddenly, that’s no longer an issue.

“I didn’t want to come home and hear all (last) week (after Leone missed two fields and two converts in Regina), what are you going to be do about this,” Buono said. “Now we go into the playoffs on a positive note.”

— And let’s close with another McCallum note. The Lions have a tradition where new players stand up in the locker-room and introduce themselves to the team. Last week, it was McCallum’s turn and let’s just say he wasn’t the typical Lions rookie.

According to Travis Lulay, McCallum stood up and said: “I’m Paul. I’m from Surrey. I ride motorcycles and sell real estate.” At that point Buono cut him off with: “And you’re old, sit down.”

“Wally made the age joke so it was OK,” Lulay said.

After Saturday’s game it was also pointed out to McCallum that he become the oldest player in Lions history on Saturday, older even than Lui Passaglia.

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